Truncated Assignment, Swedish Scotch, And Why Everything Here Is A Struggle

After months of exhaustive discussions and corporate maneuvering the final decision was made to assign Cassie to a vacant position back in the US in Bethesda, MD, where she worked before we moved to Paris.

The whole crew should be back in Lynchburg early in May. The move will be accomplished on one of the twins' off weeks in between college quarters. More information will be forthcoming as things progress but it is a done deal and we are definitely coming back to Virginia. Lists are being made and plans are already being activated to make it all happen.

A couple of weekends ago we had dinner with a passel of Swedes as these days here some of our favorite people in Paris are a Swedish couple, Anna and Sebastian with their dog Sture. Sebastian's cousin Vivicka and her husband own a restaurant in the 10th arrondissement that's a fusion cookin joint and quite good. One of Sebastian's other Swedish cousins lives in works in Paris was also there that evening but for the life of me now I can't remember what her name was. The evening was amazing in that Vivicka, Anna, and Sebastian and his other cousin would all start speaking in Swedish which is a vary musical sounding language but totally foreign to anything either me or Cassie have ever heard and we were just swept away with all of it. It was a blast and Cassie captured some of it on her I-Phone that we'll have to download somewhere so we have it to show to folks one day. Sebastian's real name is "Johann Sebastian Bach".......and I'm not kidding there. And no, he doesn't play or write music. Cassie likes to say that he reminds her of a modern day pirate...... Hahahahahahaha....* He and Anna brought us a bottle of Swedish scotch that we haven't opened yet. Perhaps at the next party. We love those guys......*

Lastly, while theses thoughts are still in my head, it becomes increasing obvious to me why France as a country is where it is in the overall pantheon of nations. I've never been anywhere where almost everything is so torturous whether it's traffic, getting paperwork done, having repairs done in one's apartment, where strikes happen almost daily that can make one's life a nightmare, and where customer service is always the exception to any rule of any kind. What a nation of paradoxes.......* Most days it amazes me that anything ever gets done here. Paris is an amazing city and it's filled with beauty and grandeur that rivals anything on the planet and the food and wine, and culture are awesome. Everyone here want's us to learn how to speak French but most times when we do so even correctly we're smacked down by someone and Cassie regularly attends meetings where she works in which everyone speaks French and just ignores her. The list goes on and on. Through all of this we do have some French friends who fly in the face of all of that who we will always adore and miss when we leave. The rest though have contributed to my hair getting grayer.

All of these things leave me changed again which of course is the way any travel should always be if it's good. I suspect the twins and Cassie are changed also. It'll be interesting to see what they write. We still have adventures to experience here before we leave and those will be added to this narrative.

Love to all everywhere!

We'll see ya sooner than you may be ready for!

Ha!

Sid